TikTok Faces €5 Million Penalty for Cookie Consent Violations
The French data protection watchdog, CNIL, has handed down a €5 million penalty to TikTok for breaching rules on cookie consent. The enforcement action relates to a cookie-consent flow used by the company on its website until early last year.
Cookie-Consent Flow Criticized by CNIL
According to the CNIL’s press release, during an investigation in June 2021, it was found that TikTok’s website did not provide an easy way for users to refuse cookies. In fact, several clicks were required to reject all cookies, while only one click was needed to accept them. The watchdog considered this to be a manipulation of consent, making it more difficult for users to opt out.
CNIL Finds Breaches of Article 82
The CNIL’s investigation also found that TikTok had not informed users in a sufficiently precise manner about the purposes of the cookies used on their website. This was deemed a breach of Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act, which requires companies to obtain informed consent from users before collecting and processing their personal data.
TikTok’s Response
A spokesperson for TikTok stated that the company had addressed the issues related to cookie consent last year, including making it easier to reject non-essential cookies and providing additional information about the purposes of certain cookies. The CNIL itself highlighted TikTok’s cooperation during the investigation, and user privacy remains a top priority for the company.
The Impact on EU Compliance
This enforcement action by the CNIL may have far-reaching implications for other companies operating in the EU. The penalty highlights the importance of ensuring that cookie-consent mechanisms are transparent and user-friendly, and that users are properly informed about the data being collected and processed. As TechCrunch’s Natasha Lomas notes, ePrivacy enforcement may help set the EU bar for compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Relevant Links
- CNIL ePrivacy enforcement
- ePrivacy cookie consent enforcement
- Europe
- France
- Privacy
- TikTok
Additional Coverage
For more on this story, see:
- Meta’s ads being found unlawful in the EU is a warning to other ad-funded platforms
- TikTok privacy update in Europe confirms China staff access to data as GDPR probe continues
- Mark Cuban is ready to fund a TikTok alternative built on Bluesky’s AT Protocol
